Posted: May 25, 2012 | 2:09 a.m.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June on a four-story, 46,000-square-foot law office and mock courtroom at 400 S. Seventh St., the latest development shaping the future of downtown Las Vegas.

Attorney Robert Eglet, who won a $160 million settlement for plaintiffs in the hepatitis C medical malpractice lawsuit, announced the project Thursday at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law.

The Robert T. Eglet Advocacy Center will be home to four law firms and an investigation firm that share ownership in the joint venture, he said.

At an estimated cost of $18 million, it's the largest privately funded building to go downtown in a number of years, Eglet said.

The project is being financed by Bank of Nevada and the Small Business Administration. Korte Co. is the general contractor, and DesignCell is the architect. Completion is expected in December 2013.

"We're committed to the downtown area. With our practice, it's important to be within walking distance of the courthouse," the personal injury attorney said. "The economy is getting better. I think you're going to see more development downtown, and we're happy to be part of that."

David Wall, former judge and Eglet partner, said the venture shows commitment not only to the future of downtown Las Vegas, but to the community as a whole.

The Advocacy Center will have a courtroom on the third floor that will be used by UNLV law students and faculty for mock trials.

A historic marker will be permanently displayed in honor of Charles "Pop" Squires, who built the first bank, hotel and lumberyard in Las Vegas soon after the city was founded in 1905. Squires and his wife, Delphine, lived in a home on the lot where the office will be built.

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Construction To Start On Downtown Law Office

Balfour Beatty Construction was selected by Carr Properties to provide both preconstruction and construction services for the new 1700 New York Avenue, NW office building, which is located less than two blocks from the White House and directly adjacent to the world-renowned Corcoran Gallery of Art.

A 122,000-square-foot, trophy-quality office with striking views of the White House and other Washington, D.C. landmarks, the new eight-story all-glass building will be constructed such that the top three levels will cantilever to the south over the Corcoran Gallery roof. With a goal of achieving LEED Gold certification, the building will incorporate regional and recycled materials, a green roof system to collect rainwater, energy-efficient MEP systems, daylighting, and views.

In addition to its Class A office space, the 1700 New York Avenue, NW, building will include rooftop congregating areas and a fitness center. The buildings foundation will be spread footings with concrete foundation walls for the three below-grade levels and post-tensioned concrete slabs above-grade, as well as a 15-foot cantilever along the buildings north and south sides.

The cantilever design enables a column-free perimeter area, said Steve Smithgall, division president for Balfour Beatty Construction in Washington. Future tenants will have amazing, unobstructed views of the White House and the Washington Monument views rare in this city.

Balfour Beatty Construction has been working closely with Carr and SmithGroup to provide preconstruction services since June 2011. Completing in the summer of 2013, the new buildings two levels of below-grade parking and one level of below-grade office space will require underpinning of the adjacent Corcoran Gallery building. The Balfour Beatty team is carefully planning selective demolition, utility relocations, and new construction activity to ensure minimal disruption to the Corcoran Gallerys operations.

1700 New York Avenue, NW, is one of 11 projects totaling more than $1 billion in construction value on which Balfour Beatty Construction and SmithGroup have worked together.

About Balfour Beatty Construction A leader in the U.S. commercial construction industry, Balfour Beatty Construction provides general contracting, at-risk construction management, and design-build services through more than 2,400 professionals nationwide. The company has been cited as a Top 10 Green Builder by Engineering-News Record for the past two years, and as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE magazine for three years in a row. The company is part of London-based Balfour Beatty plc, a global leader in professional services, construction services, support services, and infrastructure investment, with more than $18 billion in annual revenues. To learn more about the company and its subsidiaryHoward S. Wrightvisit balfourbeattyus.com.

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Balfour Beatty Construction Breaks Ground on 1700 New York Avenue, NW

FALLS CHURCH, Va., May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Suffolk Construction, one of the most successful, privately held building contractors in the country, announces today that its Mid-Atlantic Region was selected by INOVA Health System to build the new INOVA Fair Oaks Hospital Medical Office Building IV located in Fairfax, Virginia. Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic was selected based on the company's award-winning national experience in healthcare construction combined with a local team of professionals who are committed to delivering the "Build Smart" approach to healthcare construction management.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120523/PH12721-a) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120523/PH12721LOGO-b)

INOVA Fair Oaks Medical Office Building IV is comprised of a 4-story core and shell totaling 115,000 GSF and a below grade level designed and constructed for a future radiation / oncology imaging suite with two linear accelerator (LINAC) vaults. Beyond the traditional bounds of the building floor plate, the project also includes the construction of a new campus entrance on Rugby Road; site clearing and construction of additional surface parking; installation of site lighting and traffic signals; and the necessary site improvements required around the new medical office building. The INOVA Fair Oaks Medical Office Building IV will pursue LEED Silver certification and will utilize Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology during construction.

Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic will join a team of industry experts including development consultant, Sittler Development Associates, LLC of Reston, Virginia; project architect, Architecture, Inc. of Reston, Virginia; civil engineer, Dewberry & Davis, LLC of Fairfax, Virginia; MEP engineer, Leach Wallace Associates, Inc. of Elkridge, Maryland; and structural engineer, Rathgeber / Goss Associates of Rockville, Maryland. INOVA Health System owns INOVA Fair Oaks Medical Office Building IV.

Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic is located at 3190 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, Virginia 22042. For more information about Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic, please call 703.286.3200 or email at contactmidatlantic@suffolkconstruction.com.

Suffolk Construction Company

Suffolk Construction is one of the most successful privately-held building contractors in the country, providing preconstruction, construction management, design-build, and general contracting services to clients in the healthcare, science and technology, education, federal government, and commercial sectors. Suffolk is based in Boston, Massachusetts and has a strong national presence with main offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and West Coast. Suffolk is committed to delivering its "build smart" approach to construction management on every project. The company's teams provide clients comprehensive planning services, innovative solutions and technologies, and proven processes such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) that allow Suffolk to deliver the most complex building construction projects on schedule and on budget, with minimal risk. Suffolk is a community-conscious organization dedicated to environmentally-friendly and sustainable business practices, and is committed to making a positive impact in its local communities through strong leadership, proactive involvement, and grassroots volunteering. For more information about Suffolk, visit the official website at http://www.suffolkconstruction.com.

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Suffolk Construction To Build INOVA Fair Oaks Hospital's New Medical Office Building IV

BUILDING PERMITS

Boulder

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between May 7 and May 13, 2012. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2012-01504; 4745 Arapahoe Ave., No. 110; $17,771.76; Boulder Community; Remodel of the Women's Clinic at Boulder Community Hospital. To include addition of a storage room and a new partition in the hallway.

PMT2012-01601; 1880 Redwood Ave.; $48,111.80; Tiphaine and Paolo Bonetti; Second story addition to detached garage for an owner's accessory dwelling unit, approved through AUR2012-00002, including full bath and kitchen/living/sleeping area and exterior deck and stairs.

PMT2012-01827; 2605 University Heights; $80,000; Mark Bossert; Conversion of a portion (468 square feet) of an existing garage into living area with three-quarter bathroom. Construct new 414-square-foot attached garage. Install mini-split system.

PMT2012-01971; 1881 Ninth St.; $90,000; Alecta Real Estate; Sand Construction; Tenant remodel of Suites 103 and 120 including installation of non-bearing walls for offices, installation of accessible shower associated mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.

PMT2012-02243; 303 Hollyberry Lane; $45,000; James Faller; Chinook Construction; Relocate kitchen to area previously used as dining room, area previously used as kitchen to be converted into a music room. Reconfiguration of interior walls, no increase in plumbing fixtures. Service upgrade to 200 amps, install gas piping and gas log set and doors at upstairs fireplace. Install two new windows in new openings -- replace all other windows in house. See engineer's letter and drawings for specific details.

PMT2012-01348; 3254 Palo Parkway; $227,442.00; Gary Calderon; Markel Homes Construction Co.; New single-family detached residence on Lot 13, Northfield Commons. Two-story detached residence with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with additional basement rough-in, attached two-car garage, unfinished basement.

PMT2012-01350; 4621 Sunnyside Place; $325,000; North Boulder; Coast to Coast Residential Development; New single-family residence on Lot 12, Northfield Village, two-story residence with unfinished basement, two and a half baths, three bedrooms with main level office/bedroom, attached two-car tandem garage.

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Boulder building permits: May 21, 2012

Posted on: 10:53 pm, May 17, 2012, by Adam Mertz, updated on: 02:53pm, May 18, 2012

State Senator Clark Jolley said the $42 million facility would be built on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.

This week the cooler at the current facility broke and forced officials to move bodies out of the M.E.s office.

Weve allowed this facility to get worse and worse and worse, Sen. Jolley, R-Edmond, said.$42 million is the cost not just for the building but for all the equipment thats inside. Edmond North High School has a better science lab than the state medical examiner, its embarrassing.

Sen. Jolley said if the funding is approved in the budget, a bond through UCO will pay for the facility.

Critics argue this is an inappropriate use of a bond that is designed for higher education.

When you look at the partnership between the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and UCO in developing the Forensic Science Institute, you can see the incredible benefits it has provided to not only forensic investigations in our state but to students who can nowpursuea masters degree in the field, Sen. Jolley said.

I believe constructing this much-needed facility for the Medical Examiners office holds tremendous potential for the public, for law enforcement and for education, he said.

There are also some who believe the M.E.s office needs to stay in Oklahoma City.

Terry Felts, who worked as an investigator with the Medical Examiners office, said the current location is important because it is near OU Medical Center and the health department.

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Things heating up at ME’s office

Commercial property developers are backing David Cameron's call to get Britain building again, according to a new report.

The construction of new offices in London has increased by 44pc compared with last year, aided by lower build costs, and is now three times greater than its lowest level three years ago.

The rise in construction has been identified in the latest crane survey by property services group Drivers Jonas Deloitte, which measures the amount of space under construction through the number of cranes on the skyline.

The Coalition sees construction and investment in infrastructure as a key path to economic growth for the UK.

According to the DJD survey, 9.2m sq ft of office space is under construction in London, 28pc more than six months ago. The projects under construction include the Walkie Talkie skyscraper by Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group and the Cheesegrater by British Land (LSE: BLND.L - news) and Canadian group Oxford Properties.

Anthony Duggan, head of research, at DJD, said: "While construction continues to rise in the core City and West End markets, our research also shows that activity has returned to King's Cross and the Docklands, as well as a further increase in activity along the Southbank. This is a sign that developers feel that the low levels of construction compared to historic trends and lower building costs are compelling."

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Lower building costs lift office starts

Twelve local fire companies rushed to downtown Chambersburg early Thursday afternoon when fire broke out on the roof of a Franklin County office building next to the courthouse.

Sparks from the demolition of the adjacent Harmon building ignited hay bales that were placed on the roof of the addition at the rear of 14 N. Main St. to protect it from construction debris, according to a news release from the commissioners, whose offices are housed in the addition.

The demolition is part of the $2.2 million project that includes renovations to the current county complex and the Junior Hose Co. building.

Workers were cutting through concrete containing rebar, which caused the sparks, according to the commissioners news release.

One construction worker was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Seen far away

Smoke from the burning hay could be seen from several miles away on Interstate 81.

William FitzGerald, Chambersburgs emergency services chief, said the fire was reported at 1:04 p.m. Firefighters evacuated the building, attacked the fire from the front of the building and had it under control in about 15 minutes, FitzGerald said. It took about two hours to make sure the fire was totally extinguished and North Main Street was closed to traffic for about three hours.

FitzGerald added the 50 firefighters on the scene did have trouble seeing the edge of the roof and knowing what areas of the roof were no longer stable.

Our biggest challenge was safety, FitzGerald said.

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Fire damages Franklin County building

NEW YORK, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --McGraw-Hill Construction today launched the Dodge Momentum Index, a 12-month leading indicator of construction spending for nonresidential building. Based on a 91% correlation between construction planning reports, as reported by Dodge, and the Commerce Department's Put in Place spending over the past 10 years, the index is an early and accurate leading indicator of future construction spending. It will prove useful to building product manufacturers, AEC firms, construction industry professionals, economists and Wall Street analysts. The index will be issued monthly.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120517/NY08795-INFO)

The predictive accuracy of the index is derived from the source of data that feeds it: the proprietary Dodge database of first-issued construction planning reports. Dodge is the sole private provider of construction starts and project data analysis to the U.S. Census Bureau, supporting the federal government's monthly estimate of construction spending, a key input for the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). One-third of projects in the Dodge database are in the planning stage-the projects that feed the new Dodge Momentum Index.

"The strength of the new Dodge Momentum Index is that it's based on proprietary planning data from Dodge's national network of reporters. These are individual, real-life projects, many of which will become construction starts down the road and generate construction spending dollars," said Kate Cassino, Vice President of Product Development for McGraw-Hill Construction. "We have the benefit of using our world-renowned Dodge project information to create a highly accurate index, rather than relying on survey-based data."

In designing the new Dodge Momentum Index, McGraw-Hill examined more than a decade of monthly planning data (from January 2002 to February 2012) which produced an exceptionally strong correlation of 91% with the Commerce Department's nonresidential building construction put in place spending. Importantly, the analysis shows that changes in the Dodge nonresidential new planning data leads changes in Commerce spending put in place by twelve months.

Since reaching bottom in July 2011 at a level of 77.1 (2000=100), the index has trended up in all but two months. In April 2012, the Dodge Momentum Index climbed 1.0 points from the previous month to reach a level of 94.7. According to Robert Murray, Vice President of Economic Affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction, "The relatively steady movement upward since the middle of last year suggests that construction spending put in place for nonresidential buildings should begin to move in a more consistently positive direction during the second half of 2012. This is good news for an industry that has been strongly hit by declines since the 2009 recession."

The strong relationship established between the Dodge Momentum Index and construction spending, with its full year of lead time, means that the index is likely to prove extremely valuable to construction industry professionals, as well as economists and Wall Street analysts. For McGraw-Hill Construction's customers, the index serves as an excellent full year leading indicator of future construction spending and demand for construction products and services. For economists, it's an accurate leading indicator of construction spending when assessing longer term outlooks and the health of the construction industry against the broader economy. For Wall Street analysts, the index provides directional information that acts as a variable to help underscore their predictive models, and health of the sector.

"The Dodge data provides daily opportunity for discovery and inspiration for new ideas and new offerings to help our customers plan ahead smartly and succeed," said Keith Fox, President, McGraw-Hill Construction. "The Dodge Momentum Index joins the ranks of Dodge BuildShare and Dodge SpecShare, our latest intelligence offerings that provide building product manufacturers and AEC professionals with trends, forecasts, competitive intelligence, and deep relationship building tools. The Dodge Momentum Index is also a new source of credible analysis for economists and analysts who need to measure markets."

Additional details are available for the overall commercial and institutional sectors, and the sub-sectors of office buildings, retail and warehouse buildings, and education buildings.

For more information, download the Dodge Momentum Index white paper at http://construction.com/download/Dodge_Momentum_Index_WhitePaper.pdf.

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McGraw-Hill Construction Debuts the Dodge Momentum Index

OKLAHOMA CITY On a sun-soaked morning in Oklahoma City, construction workers were busy working on a new six-story office building for Boeing as the company expands its presence into a second building.

While crews worked, planes took off from the sprawling Tinker Air Force Base just across the street.

Boeings expansion in Oklahoma will make room for the Boeing B-1 Lancer and C-130 Hercules programs moving from Long Beach, Calif.

Its also needed as Boeing closes its historic Wichita facilities and moves engineering and program management work to the site. The move will bring 800 to 900 jobs to Oklahoma City and boost employment to 2,000.

Wichitas military maintenance and modification work will move to San Antonio.

And work on Boeings Air Force tanker program slated for Wichita will now go to Puget Sound in Washington state instead.

Boeing announced in January that it will close its Wichita facilities in 2013. It cited high overhead costs, waning work and, facing looming defense budget cuts, little hope of bringing more work in, officials said.

This wasnt about labor costs, said Boeing spokesman Forrest Gossett. This was about this massive structure we have (in Wichita).

The transfer of work to Oklahoma City is scheduled to begin this fall.

It will be the end of 2013 before the Wichita site, which employs 2,160 people, will close completely.

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Wichita’s Boeing loss is Oklahoma City’s gain

A model of the new 45-story River Point office tower, to be built at Lake and Canal streets, at the head of the Chicago River. (Credit: CBS)

CHICAGO (CBS) On his first anniversary as Chicagos Mayor, Rahm Emanuel and developers have announced a new office building to be built in the West Loop, the first in several years.

Chicagos economic recovery is the reason I want to emphasize it the reason we are here today, said Kevin Shannahan, CEO of Hines Interests LP, the developer of the new skyscraper.

WBBM Newsradio Political editor Craig Dellimore reports Hines and Ivanhoe Cambridge will build a new sleek 45-story office tower at Lake and Canal Streets, where the Chicago River splits into its north and south branches.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports

The mayor said the new River Point tower will create 1,000 construction jobs, followed by 3,400 permanent jobs inside the skyscraper once its completed.

While its on my one-year anniversary, I think its actually an anniversary for the city, in a sense of the vote of confidence, and the jobs that will be created, the economic opportunity that will be created, and I think the growth that will become from this investment, the mayor said.

The city is providing a $29 million tax subsidy to assist in construction of a 1.5 acre riverfront sculpture park that Emanuel said will be open to the public, and built over the Metra tracks just east of the tower.

This is just for the park, and the riverfront property. The building is separate. Thats their investment, Emanuel said. This property will pay, over 15 years, $175 million in taxes.

Kevin Shannahan, CEO of Hines Interests LP, said the citys economic recovery under Emanuel is the reason this long-planned project is going forward now.

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Mayor Announces New Riverfront Office Tower